Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-09
A Great Bridge.

The Albany Express thus describes
the great bridge now in course Of con-
struction over the Hudson river at that
place:
When completed, the bridge will be
the most extensive and magnificent
structure of its kind in the world ex-
cept one-the bridge over the Firth oi
Forth, in Great Britain, now also in
process of construction. 1t is 1904 feet
in length from anchorage to anchorage,
and the approaches consist of a viaduct
of about 5000 feet in length on the east
side and about 1000 feet on the west,
making the whole about 7l00 feet, OF
nearly one and one-half miles.
The history of this great undertak-
ing is an interesting one. The bridge
company was incorporated in 1871 by
an act of the Legislature, amended in
1872 to permit the placing of four
piers in the river channel. This i'm
portant privilege was granted after
full investigation, because it was
shown tina such piers would interfere
with navigation less here than at any
point on the river. The work of con-
struction was begun in 1873, and has
since given employment to an army OF
men.
The bridge proper will be construct
ed of steel and will rest on six piers
one on either shore and four in the
channel. Each shore pier consists OF
three small piers built up from the
rock to height of forty-five
feet above high water. The river
piers are carried down to depths of
from l25 to 1856 feet below the surface
in order to secure solid foundation.
10 reach this depth open caissons Of
timber were built sixty feet wide by
100 feet long, weighted by pockets
filled with concrete and sank by
dredging through the open spaces.
This method was never before used
on SO large scale and has proven en-
tirely successful, the caissons being
readily sunk to a greater depth than
can be reached by the pneumatic cais-
sons used in the Brooklyn bridge. AS
the caissons sank they were built up
from the top, 50 that when the lower
edges rested upon the solid stratum
underlying the silt at the bottom of
the river the top was about twenty
feet below the surface. The open
spaces were then filled with concrete,
the top leveled and solid timber plat
form placed on top, on which the mason
ry was built. The masonry piers, which
alone show above the water, are
eighty feet long by twenty-five feet
wide, the length being in the direc-
ton of the river, and are built to a
height OF thirty feet above the sur
face. These massive structures will
contain something like $4,000, 900 feet
of lumber, 40, 900 cubic yards of con-
crete, and 20, 900 yards of masonry.
AS stated, the bridge proper will be
wholly of steel. Upon the piers will
be erected steel towers 100 feet high,
making the height from the water to
the under side of the trusses $50 feet.
There will be two rectangular steel
truss spans, each 525 feet, and so feet
high. The three other spans are
cantilevers, the arms being 160 feet
each and the connecting trusses PIP
feet. The height of the connecting
trusses from the water surface will be
l62 feet, and the height of the rail on
top PIP feet. The viaducts will be of
iron, and about $1,000 tons Of steel
and 5000 tons of iron will be used in
the structure.
The bridge will carry double rail
way track on the upper chord, and
will be capable of holding with entire
safety two continuous trains Of eighty
five ton locomotives covering the en-
tire length of both tracks. The ulti-
mate strength OF the materials is equal
to five times this strain.
The bridge can never be owned or
controlled by any railroad company,
but is required to grant equal faclil-
ties to all. and for this purpose the
corporation will construct two miles of
railroad on each side of the river, in
order to afford ample opportunities for
connections. From the bridge, lead
ing eastward, the New York q Massa-
chusetts railroad is in operation, con-
Meeting with the Hartford Il Connecti-
cut Western. The New York & New
England is also nearly completed, and
a third line is contemplated. On the
west three lines have been located,
connecting with the great coal-felds
of Pennsylvania and with no less than
seven great trunk lines running west.
The bridge furnishes the shortest and
best route to New England, and, as
Poughkeepsie is nearer to the great
anthracite coal-fields than Weehaw-
ken, the bridge will undoubtedly
become the great coal route not only
to all New England, but to New York
city also.